Des Moines, IA Weather & Climate Normals
Des Moines's real weather, in one number
Des Moines, IA scores 39/100 on this site's reading of NOAA's own 30-year normals: weather-driven. Heat, cold, snow, or rainfall here are heavy enough that they shape daily life for a large part of the year. 4 of the year's 12 months average between 55 and 75°F, the range this site counts as mild.
Des Moines's hottest and coldest months
Des Moines's hottest month is Jul, averaging 75°F; its coldest is Jan, averaging 21°F, a 54.6°F swing across the year, one of the widest gaps in this dataset.
Des Moines's weather across the year
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Precip | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30°F | 12°F | 0.97in | 6.2in |
| Feb | 34°F | 16°F | 0.99in | 8in |
| Mar | 47°F | 27°F | 2.01in | 3.7in |
| Apr | 61°F | 38°F | 4in | 0.7in |
| May | 72°F | 50°F | 5.26in | 0in |
| Jun | 82°F | 61°F | 5.37in | 0in |
| Jul | 86°F | 65°F | 4.19in | 0in |
| Aug | 84°F | 62°F | 4.72in | 0in |
| Sep | 77°F | 53°F | 3.62in | 0in |
| Oct | 64°F | 41°F | 2.67in | 0.6in |
| Nov | 48°F | 29°F | 1.86in | 1in |
| Dec | 35°F | 18°F | 1.39in | 4.5in |
May, Jun, Aug, and Sep are the best time to see Des Moines at its mildest; the rest of the year, plan around Jul's heat and Jan's cold.
Rain and snow in Des Moines
Des Moines averages 37.05in of precipitation a year across roughly 102 days with measurable rain or snow, and 24.7in of snow a year.
Where Des Moines ranks
Des Moines ranks 4589 of 4876 US cities in this dataset for comfort score, and 70 of 85 within IA. About 213,096 people live there.
If you need tomorrow's forecast, not the 30-year average
Everything above is a 30-year average from Ankeny, IA US, 11.2 miles from Des Moines, not a prediction for any specific day.
More on how this is worked out
How the comfort score is calculated · Why some cities show no snow or rain figure